It is not always easy to understand why some artists never seem to escape the spotlight, while others never seem to get the attention they really deserve. Of course, we often disagree of the criteria that should be used measuring the contribution of an artist, but in the case of Mickey Newbury he was early … Continue reading An American Troubadour – Mickey Newbury.
Month: May 2017
A Voice From On High – Diana Jones.
I´m really not a religious person. Still I believe in the soul and its irremediable loneliness. Never more so than when I hear the great singing voices. Like the voice of Diana Jones. Her name sounds like it´s taken from a cartoon or a spy in an action thriller, or maybe from an old american ballad from … Continue reading A Voice From On High – Diana Jones.
A country song in her own right – Mary Gauthier.
I remember it well. The year was 1999 and I held a record in my hand. There was this strange blurry picture of a woman, I couldn´t see if she was twenty or sixty-four by the picture. I had to turn the cd to see the title properly and I never had heard of her … Continue reading A country song in her own right – Mary Gauthier.
Happy Birthday, Mr Dylan!
Happy Birthday, Mr Dylan! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_HzZrOGlRk https://open.spotify.com/track/5krLPOpDoQ7oL5IoPsIaQK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNO4pph5nPI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nHwILs8bdo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWvJOCbsosE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea6R-sALVlA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSeaC_A9BXg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGAWwK9unlQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij1UDMr3B-E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4qmm82IcPs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcZjDuJQmQ0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHV3OjW5gsg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgbGflqjO_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-C319Qj_O0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlVpVIeY74U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa3wUtCTw_s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyz9bNCqY_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i36ctQhmGCQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY46gv-C534 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIS0k9TaMYA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JZQFWZEAGM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_SiVabBvC4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktBq4Fcksa0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kfWmDU2iaQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVoSNukxDTY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPxNc34tUpI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tctzUNMp5po https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwvN3KJBT9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsl_krW7ZkE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o4s1KVJaVA
Try a little tenderness. Rest In Peace, Jimmy LaFave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky-NbkW-wBo The sad news about Jimmy LaFave´s death reached us this week. We already knew about his fight with terminal cancer. He died only 61 years old, a few days after a farewell concert with many of his friends, family, fans and fellow singers and songwriters. In a very touching moment he led the crowd … Continue reading Try a little tenderness. Rest In Peace, Jimmy LaFave.
Bob Dylan + Folk = True!
Two old ladies left the London Palladium disappointed and annoyed in April, wondering what happened to the hero folk singer of their youth, Bob Dylan. In their eyes, he had nothing to do with the riverboat gambler standing and swaying on the stage in the beautiful old theater. Even if I respect their right to … Continue reading Bob Dylan + Folk = True!
Bob Dylan + Rock´n Roll = True!
"Billy (Lee Riley) was a son of rock 'n' roll, obviously. He was a true original. He did it all: He played, he sang, he wrote. He would have been a bigger star but Jerry Lee came along. And you know what happens when someone like that comes along. You just don't stand a chance. So … Continue reading Bob Dylan + Rock´n Roll = True!
Bob Dylan + Soul = True!
Between the 1920´s and 1940´s the term "race records" was used, tagging the records made in african-american music genres, marketed to the african american market. All the way to 1949 the term was used, even Billboard had its own chart for "Race Records". Then one of their journalists, Jerry Wexler, suggested a change, more fitting for … Continue reading Bob Dylan + Soul = True!
Bob Dylan + Gospel = True!
"All my loyal and my much-loved companions They approve of me and share my code I practice a faith that's been long abandoned Ain't no altars on this long and lonesome road" (Bob Dylan, "Ain´t Talkin´, 2006) The use of religious imagery, imagery based on faith in a higher power or in the dream of … Continue reading Bob Dylan + Gospel = True!
Bob Dylan + Blues = True!
The blues runs in Bob Dylan´s veins, and it always did. His first album is soaked in it, and on his second we find this statements about how he sees it: "Down the Highway" is a distillation of Dylan's feeling about the blues. "The way I think about the blues," he says, "comes from what … Continue reading Bob Dylan + Blues = True!
Johnny B. 